Q&As: Let Us Answer Any Question You May Have

"N0! And why should we? We teach in the 1000 building, in our hybrid labs, with the curriculum we have created for the last decade, and to the same students we all share. This is the same place we want our design-thinking students to take their foundational art class, because a designer without a foundational art background will struggle to succeed in their chosen field. For a better curriculum structure we are moving some Digital Arts courses to new prefixes, just for clarity and a better structure, from ANIM (animation), NART (narrative arts), PROD (product design), to VFX (3D/CGI and visual effects). The rest of DART classes, those dealing with Entertainment Arts, will remain under the DART program..."

"The growth of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and  Mathematics) programs has been remarkable, fueled by their focus on fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation across diverse disciplines. Many design-thinking students at Fullerton College find existing Art and DART programs inadequate to accommodate their identity as designers. The second reason is funding. A Design Department is better positioned to secure grants specifically designed for career technical programs. These grants will help subsidize student costs and improve facilities, creating additional support for students..."

"Designers and artists approach their work differently, with designers focusing on problem-solving through a systematic process, while artists aim to evoke emotions through personal expression. Designers follow a structured, data-driven approach tailored to the needs of clients, while artists rely on intuition and subjective expression. Design is objective and made for others, whereas art is subjective and often serves as self-expression. Design students, rooted in structured methodologies like Design Thinking (DT), may struggle to connect with the more subjective nature of art subjects, leading to a loss of extremely talented design-thinking students to other educational institutions..."

"Having studio arts programs like drawing and painting, sculpture, ceramics, art History, and printmaking fall under the art department is how most of the Art schools in the country structure these programs. On the other hand, design-centric and Career Technical Education (CTE) programs like what we are proposing currently fall under the Digital Arts program, a program that also falls under the art department. This creates confusion for both students and counseling. Establishing a separate design department would provide better agency, better curriculum-organization, better outreach to schools with STEM and STEAM programs, and better funding through CTE grants, and industry sponsorships..."

"We hope so. A Design Department is better positioned to secure grants specifically designed for career technical programs. While running all seven digital labs on a yearly budget of $3,900 for the last nine years has been beyond difficult, we have been told that establishing a new design department would urge the district to create a yearly budget for this new department. This has happened in other divisions when create new departments were created. We were also told that this will not take away from the current Fine Arts Division department's budgets - art, music, and theater, since our administrators are currently talking with the district to increase these budgets..."

"Gina is already doing the work for two departments, and helping with Theater! We would hope that with the creation of a new design department, the District and the College would provide a new administrative support, but it is unlikely. We hope that since the gallery and ceramics tech position have moved from part-time to full-time, a full-time digital labs technician would be the right outcome. Technicians cannot work "out of class" by creating RQs, managing budgets, or aiding with the schedule, but they could collaborate with our Gina. She could set up blanket order purchases for our vendors, establish RQs for quotes, and share budgetary information for the grants, District and bursar funds, as she does with the gallery, sculpture, and ceramics technicians..."

"Absolutely not! We are currently reorganizing our curriculum to enhance its structure, and one aspect of this involves relocating certain DART classes to more fitting programs. For instance, our digital publishing classes will now be housed under the Narrative Arts program. These classes, currently taught by our colleague Ben Cuat (Printing Technologies), will continue under his guidance, so we can align with his recently approved printing for narrative arts courses. Similarly, our 3D/CGI classes, covering software like Autodesk Maya, Substance 3D Painter, and Zbrush, will transition to the new VFX appendix. DART classes focusing on Entertainment Arts will remain under the DART program...."

"Last time we checked, those are Art classes, and traditional classes to be specific, they are and they will be foundational classes for our design students! Courses in 2D and 3D design art are vital because they teach  foundational skills like composition and color theory, foster creativity and self-expression, and develop problem-solving abilities essential  for various fields. Additionally, they provide proficiency in digital tools, help students build portfolios, offer versatility across industries, and teach collaboration skills crucial for teamwork in creative projects and careers. Overall, taking 2D and 3D design classes equips design students with essential skills, knowledge, and experiences necessary for success in their academic and professional endeavors..."

"Having separate studio classrooms and hybrid digital labs offers several benefits to our students by focusing on distinct skill sets. Studio classrooms are dedicated to traditional art techniques like drawing, painting, sculpture, etc, while hybrid digital labs emphasize digital tools and software. Studios classrooms require specific physical setups with easels, drawing horses, print presses, work benches, etc., while hybrid digital labs need computers and digital peripherals, like Cintiqs, scanners, etc. Studios classrooms offer tactile experiences and experimentation with physical materials, while hybrid digital labs allow exploration of digital techniques and multimedia formats. This division of facilities allows students to fully immerse themselves in either traditional or digital mediums without distractions, encourages experimentation, creativity, and interdisciplinary learning, fostering diverse skill sets throughout our students' education..."

"Current and future design students MUST complete traditional arts  foundation classes, including color theory, 2D design, 3D design,  perspective, and basic sculpting, and that's just to start. These courses are essential for enhancing a designer students' artistic skills. Freshman design student, whether attending Art Center College of Design, Otis College of Art and Design, Laguna College of Art and Design, or any other educational institution with a strong design department, MUST enroll in these foundational  classes. The certificates we are proposing, both revised and upcoming, will include a series of restrictive foundational art classes, followed by a series of restrictive foundational design courses. Afterward, students will have the opportunity to select elective courses in their chosen field, such as animation, narrative arts, product design, or VFX..."

"Our vision is to establish a new design department that operates as a dynamic hub, serving as a catalyst for students with a design-thinking mindset. We believe that this new department will significantly aid these students in clarifying their educational paths and career aspirations. Many students who adopt a design-thinking  approach, particularly those who have participated in STEM and STEAM programs during high school, often find themselves feeling out of place in traditional art departments. This sentiment is frequently expressed to us, resulting in the loss of many students to other colleges. They often feel disconnected from disciplines like drawing, painting, despite their interest in drawing, or they may not be drawn to entertainment arts but are passionate about fields like movie props, toy design, comic books, and graphic novels. These are the  students we aim to support and empower..."

"Locally we have the following colleges with design departments and similar programs, like animation, narrative arts, product design, and VFXs, so we can work with to create new transfer agreements with: Art Center College of Design, Laguna College of Art and Design, Otis College of Art and Design, California State University Long Beach, California State University Los Angeles,  California College of the Arts, Stanford University, and San Francisco State University..." We are also actively contacting and creating transfer agreements with the following out-of-state educational institutions: Savannah College of Art and Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Maryland Institute College of Art, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago..." Personally, I am attending this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival to create contacts and exchange programs with other European Art and Design institutions..."